wednesday_10_00 | August manga 1

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August manga 1

I was going to cut my losses on books I hadn't reviewed over the summer (maybe come back later to a few things I really liked), but I found some old write-ups that I never posted. So...August manga (I ordered it in August, even though it was almost October by the time I got it...) + a few backlog things:

Hidoku Shinaide 3 - Nekota Yonezou (sweh!!)
I'd already read most of this in the magazine, but I think I liked it even better the second time through (I want to name a favorite scene or two, but I can't even pick. Nemugasa thinking Maya's moving to Sidney and then his instarelief when he finds out the truth ["Guess I'll go back to class now, see you tomorrow!"]! Everyone thinking Maya is bullying Nemugasa! Maya sulking when Nemugasa can't go on a date! Maya's excitement at seeing Nemugas's room! BASICALLY EVERYTHING!!)

The crossover with Mosou Elektel seemed kinda forced to me, but it was worth it to see Maya all excited over the "couple seat" (a two-person bench with a huge heart as a backrest), hee.

Also, math makes everything hotter.

Katekyo! - Moegi Yuu (meh!)
The title story (about Rintarou and his tutor Kaede) is cute enough that I'm glad there's more, but nothing super special. One of the one-shot stories was just OK, the other was not really to my taste (but maybe worth it for the baby love.)

Gotta say, though, I don't think I would trust an English textbook with the words HE IS TUTORIAL on the cover.

Katekyo! 2, 3, 4 - Moegi Yuu (sweh!)
The continuation, however, is totally freaking adorable. It's pretty impressive that the author can take a formula I don't particularly care for (perfect but aloof seme + incompetent adoraklutz uke) and make it so ridiculously sweet. But I find Rintarou's screw-ups endearing rather than annoying, and I love how open he is with his affection, and Kaede is so nerdy and hilarious in his possessiveness (being jealous of Rintarou dreaming about him?) I think it might be impossible to not love him.

Also, the scene in the last chapter with Rintarou's family = A++

Also also, I'm always sad when a series is over as soon as I find it. Noooo, I love you, I want there to be morrre ;_;

Saikyou Kyoushi ~Kyoushi mo Iroiro Aru Wake de~ 2 - Yamato Nase (heh)
I love love LOVE Kouki, but Ibuki just...isn't my favorite. I WANT to like him, because he's so awkward about everything, but though he does have his moments, he's way too pushy and violent for me to get more than lukewarm about him. I did really like a lot of the plot stuff in this volume, though.

Ryuu no Yuigon EX 2 - Kitasato Senju (meh...)
Tenran = adorable
Asagi = super adorable
Everything else = AWFUL

Seriously, ugh. Why is this so rapey? I would burn this book if I weren't already so attached to the main characters.

(I think my favorite part was the evil brother character in the last story--he wasn't really evil, of course, he was just trying to get his older brother's attention! And as soon as that was revealed, nobody seemed to notice or care whether he lived or died. Oh, the irony.)

Mobile Sweet Honey - Akiba Touko (heh!)
Collection of short stories all taking place at the same college. The title story with the computer nerd and otome seme was cute enough, but my favorite was the one with the librarian, and I was sad there wasn't more of that.

Koketsu Dining - Moto Haruhira (heh!)
Akaru is a host who moves in with Hyuuga, a friend of a friend who has a tiger face and tail. Hyuuga claims he's a wrestler who wears a mask, but though it's CLEARLY not a mask, Akaru accepts this at face (haha! I kill me) value.

So...this is cat fetish porn. Seriously. One of Akaru's clients has a cat, and they trade stories about cat behavior on multiple occasions. Although large parts of it are SUPER adorable, though, I find Hyuuga's behavior sort of annoying. He keeps brushing aside Akaru's constant declarations of his affections and...it's not really clear why? And then it's even less clear why he decides to stop brushing Akaru aside and...the resolution just leaves me feeling unsatisfied. I would totally buy a second volume if the author continued the story, though, because clearly I can't resist cat fetish porn.

Caramel - Okuyama Puku (sweh)
Kobayashi Iori is the oldest of four siblings, and used to helping out around the house since both of his parents work. So when he goes off to college in Tokyo, Toudou Roku's roommate offer of free rent in exchange for cooking and cleaning seems perfect. But Roku turns out to be a shelfish, stubborn, impatient slob, and Iori doesn't think he wants to stay there after all...until he sees Roku's more vulnerable, child-like side.

I'm glad the front cover (and back cover, and color insert) is so adorable and happy-looking, because the initial friction between the characters made me uncertain about liking the main couple. (Though I immediately LOVED Iori and his SUPER ADORABLE family.) But, like Iori, Roku's hilariously childish behavior (why is it that I find a grown man being jealous of a little girl so charming?)--including being unable to sleep alone at night because he's afraid of the dark, argh, Roku, why so adorable??--won me over pretty quickly.

Ikasama Memory 1 - Natsume Isaku (sweh!)
Nakano and Tsuda were friends in high school, but a brief sexual encounter soured the relationship and they went separate ways during college. Ten years later, when Nakano is working for ~~Bandai~~ Randai and Tsuda is working for a small toy company, they meet by chance on the job.

I...don't think I can say much about this that doesn't wreck the reading experience. The end of the first chapter totally surprised me, because I 100% bought into the "Nakano broke off the 'friendship' because he wasn't that interested in Tsuda" narrative. Seeing how much their breakup actually hurt Nakano was just heartrending. ;_; (Tsuda, you are a complete dumbass, past and present. All your problems would be solved if you would just tell Nakano how you really feel.) But: OMG THEY'RE SO IN LOVE GET TOGETHER ALREADY also I need the second volume of this yesterday. *checks back of book* Oh, fantastic, it runs in an anthology that's published three times a year. Awesome! OK, I'm just going to try to forget about this book for the next five years or so.

As a side note, the fact that the main characters work for toy companies means there are tons of adorable props floating around (including "Aladin-kun" who seems to have become the mascot of the series). Love love love, the chapter 3 title page picture with the toy phones.

Shizuku Hanabira Ringo no Kaori 3 - Kawai Touko (sweh!!)
OMG I LOVE THESE GUYS SO MUCH. SO. MUCH. I had already read all these chapters in the magazine, except for the hilarious extra at the end, and I was still super excited to get it. Mu-chan is hands down the world's most adorable salaryman, and Shuu makes for such a perfect foil to his boundless enthusiasm, I could seriously read about them forever. (Sadly, this is the last volume. *sniffle*) Much love also for Shuu's family, though I sort of wish they had at least told Haruna about their relationship. (I don't know that I would expect Grandpa to understand, but surely she would?)

Kimi ni Todoke 16 - Shiina Karuho
I guess I read too much (hyper-sexualized) BL, because I have a hard time reading Kazehaya's angst as anything other than "I really want to make out with Sawako [and/or have sex with her?] but that doesn't fit in with the chaste relationship she wants and everyone else expects us to have." (Though: hey, um, you can think your girlfriend is 大事 and still have sex with her, I promise.) Which...really doesn't fit in with the tone of the rest of this series, so I will be glad when we figure out what his deal actually is.

Still not sure if Ayane is getting together with Kent, argh. Also: Chizuru, STOP BEING STUPID.

Since I am posting this months after it came out, I get to check Amazon and notice that the reviews for 17 are much higher than 16, so thank god, there must be an end to this angst-fest.

One Piece 67 - Oda Eiichirou
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

That is all.

No wait, I lied: I need to remember to not study One Piece covers too closely, because from this cover I figured out the really funny thing before it happened. I mean, I don't blame Oda for putting it on the cover (because it's freaking HILARIOUS), I just need to learn to not pay attention to the cover picture until I've finished reading.

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I ordered it in August, even though it was almost October by the time I got it…

I ~~win~~ ~~lose~~ win: My July order just got here last week, and I paid for EMS shipping! (Curse you, Castle Mango 2.)

Katekyo! 2, 3, 4 - Moegi Yuu (sweh!)

YAY! It makes me ridiculously happy when people like the things that I like. This series didn't make the complete turn for me until Sentaro showed up in volume 3 and we see super-insightful Rin, followed by super-obsessive "I must experience ALL of your emotions" Kaede. (They don't use honorifics in the translation, incidentally, which means the bonus short at the end of volume 3 makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Take the hint and use honorifics, translators & editors. It WILL make your jobs easier.) Oh, I can't wait 'til volume 4 comes out in English.

Lest you think I will die if we aren't completely twinsy: I like the scenario in Complex 18 (or whatever the Japanese title of the short story you didn't like from volume 1 is). I think it's the BL social economy that appeals to me: super-cool guy is only artificially super-cool so that he is uncontestedly worthy of completely average nice guy. Which means completely average nice guy is the secret king of cool.

Am skipping over Caramel because that's being released in English in the next few months. Am totally mourning the fact that SuBLime has completed a digital-only release of Shizuku Hanabira Ringo no Kaori. If I ever get an iPad, I will have to *grumble* buy it. (I REALLY don't want to support digital-only translations, but it's sweh with TWO exclamation points.) I hope if Ikasama Memory gets licensed, it's licensed by someone who will put it on paper. I am so owned by Natsume Isaku.

Really belated edit: I was so excited by Katekyo! that I skipped over Hidoku Shinaide: did Nemu's mom think Maya was bullying him or just that he must be a delinquent and a bad influence? (So sad, when Maya instaliked her for giving Nemugasa her looks.) Also, I was kind of sad about the end of the graduation story. I get that Nemu doesn't get it, but sometimes it would be nice if he did, y'know? I hope there's a doujinshi where Maya reclaims that button from Juuta.

Edited 2012-10-08 09:20 (UTC)

I need to look at Katekyo again, because I know volume 2 won me over, but I can't remember what did it. (I read this a couple weeks ago and the swiss cheese has already taken over.) I will come back to this conversation later.

super-cool guy is only artificially super-cool so that he is uncontestedly worthy of completely average nice guy

I like the idea, yes, but super-cool seme was too mean to his boyfriend for me.

did Nemu's mom think Maya was bullying him or just that he must be a delinquent and a bad influence?

Delinquent and bad influence. (I think what she specifically said was "I don't want you to get some girl into trouble." Because hanging out with Maya somehow means Nemugasa is having sex with random girls?) But yes, Maya's reaction to Nemugasa's mom was so adorable, it made me sad that she assumed the worst about him. (Hilarious when everyone else thinks Maya's a bully, though--my favorite was outside the juku, when Nemugasa actually had to reassure the teacher that Maya was his friend. Hee!)

I get that Nemu doesn't get it, but sometimes it would be nice if he did, y'know?

Yes! Even if Nemugasa didn't get it, I wish he had gone and gotten the button back when he saw it was important to Maya. It would have made that scene 100 times cuter for me.

re: I know volume 2 won me over, but I can't remember what did it - it was Kaede thinking that Rintarou was better than a science experiment. (I am such a pushover for nerds.)

Even though I was lazy and lumped volumes 2, 3, and 4 together with the same score, I do think 2 wasn't as good as the other two volumes, largely due to the chapter with Rinatarou's friend, because that is one of my least favorite plot devices. (Plus all the good things that you mention about 3; Sentarou will never not be hilarious, and I LOVED Kaede's determination to make Rintarou angry. Kaede, never stop being such a dork.)

Hey! I'm not trying to talk you out of liking volume 2. I MUST have liked it, since I think I started talking up Private Teacher then. I was more turned off by the cosplay cafe than by the stupidly jealous friend, but volume 2 does have the first hint of insightful/thoughtful Rin (the watch plot) and it's also when the narrative p.o.v turns from Rin to Kaede. Kaede's perspective is definitely what makes this series work, both for his hilarious intellectual obsession and for his vulnerability. Otherwise, he would be just another too-awesome do-S seme.

Ha, no, I just meant to clarify that if I hadn't been lazy and actually separated out those three volumes, they wouldn't necessarily have gotten the same score. It's just that they all ran together in my head when I was doing the write-up. I actually think I blocked the jealous friend plot out of my memory until I looked at the book again last night, because he really annoyed me. But I am totally with you on Rintarou buying the watch and Kaede's POV.

I forgot to talk about this:

They don't use honorifics in the translation, incidentally, which means the bonus short at the end of volume 3 makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

How...what does this short look like, then? What do they do with Rintarou's speech bubble that should only have "san" in it? How do they handle lines like "You really can't handle saying my name without "san," can you?" or "But Kaede-san, you always call me 'Rintarou-kun'"?

I don't have volume 3 in Japanese (which really frustrated me as soon as I realized what was going on in the "extra lesson"), so I can't precisely answer your questions.

In the first panel, the double speech bubble has "K- K-" and "Kae..." The separate speech bubble has "...de..."

"You really can't handle saying my name without "san," can you?"

I'm not sure what line this is, but I'm guessing it was translated as "No matter how much we practice, you always say my full name, hm?"

"But Kaede-san, you always call me 'Rintarou-kun'" = "B-but, Kaede, you always call me Rintaro."

As I said, it makes absolutely no sense unless you're familiar enough with Japanese to guess at the missing honorifics. Are we supposed to believe that Kaede wants Rin to call him "Kae"? This may take the prize for localization failure.

I can't precisely answer your questions.

You did, though, perfectly.

Are we supposed to believe that Kaede wants Rin to call him "Kae"?

This makes me a sad ~~panda~~ squirrel, but based on the translated line, I guess I would say yes. So then, when Kaede boasts that he CAN say Rintarou without "kun," in the translation he just says "Rin"? (But then, what about when he's supposed to say "or maybe...'Rin'"? Do they throw a Rinta in there somewhere or something?)

This may take the prize for localization failure.

It's definitely a contender, though I'm gonna say it's not as clunky as "Desktomu."

Do they throw a Rinta in there somewhere or something?

"Rin," then "Rinny." (I actually thought the latter was supposed to be Rin-chan, so this has been helpful.)

I have suppressed Desktomu, 'cause it never made sense. Chihayafuru!!

"Rinny."

EW EW EW EW

OK then, I will give this localization a tie with the Sekaiichi translation, since that's as bad as "Rittie."

I hope there's a doujinshi where Maya reclaims that button from Juuta.

Dude. DUDE. So, now Nekota is doing a Jutta story (first chapter in the current issue of Be x Boy), and the first thing that happens is that Maya texts Jutta to ask for Nemugasa's button, but Jutta (JERK!) thinks to himself that he can't because he threw it away.

This is mean, but not horrible. But THEN, Jutta wants a favor from Maya, so he gives him a FAKE BUTTON. Poor clueless Maya is so happy (http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/wednesday_10_00/2609553/400991/400991_original.jpg), and my heart is broken. I might not ever speak to Nekota again over this. It's just too cruel to Maya. :(

That is just heartbreaking. I can't believe [the spoiler item] is now unrecoverable. It makes me mad at both Jutta (thanks for correcting my romaji, there. I don't know why I thought the mini-tsu doubled the u instead of the t) and stupid Nemugasa for giving it to him in the first place.

Also, I love seeing how far you've come in your Maya love since the very misleading first chapter.

I don't know if I'm mad at Nemugasa (even if I think it's stretching believability for him to not understand because I automatically think if there's any Japanese cultural reference that I get, every Japanese person ever should know it), but I AM mad at Jutta and REALLY mad at Nekota, because it seems like needless character torture. Give Maya a break!

FACT: Maya is so adorable, it's impossible to not love him.

Thank you for the reviews of many things! I hope to acquire some of these, er, at some point. (Maybe even including the ones coming out in English in some form.)

One Piece: I KNOW. I was reading some of the chapters at the beach (via Shounen Jump Alpha, I think) and laughing SO HARD, my parents wanted to know what was going on. It was pretty hard to explain.

Poor, poor Tashigi. Put your damn shirt back on, Smoker!

Okay, this had me looking at the cover. And this is what I get from it:

Bodyswap? Sanji's mind in Nami's body? Chopper is in Sanji. (I actually got that from your avatar!) Is Zoro a woman or is that some woman with green hair I haven't met yet? Smoker/Tashigi swap. Who's in Chopper's body? And is Luffy just Luffy?

Also, Oda is a fan of Disney-style animation (guy I don't recognize under the pirate O = Disney style).

Edited 2012-10-08 17:07 (UTC)

You are mostly correct, and really the only reason you're not correct on some parts is because there are some characters you haven't met yet. So I will say no more.

LOL so hard at your spoiler. (Yes! Bad Smoker!) Do you have 67 yet? Have you looked at the SBS corners?

ETA: I forgot to say that I was sad because when I finished 67 I went to check on your post about the current arc, but that chapter will be in 68 so I can't read it yet. :(

Edited 2012-10-08 17:28 (UTC)

Ah, I do have 67, but I haven't opened it to look at the SBS corners. I don't know why I always forget that those will be new, even if I've recently read most of the actual chapters.

that chapter will be in 68 so I can't read it yet. :(

I was going to check to see if the chapter I posted about was in volume 67, so that answers that question. Oh well, I will look forward to your reactions when you CAN read it. ^_^

(PS: OMG the cover arc image to ch. 666!)

OMG the cover arc image to ch. 666!

YES! I mean, I suspected, but having it confirmed made me very, very happy.

Geez, people, I'm never going to see this. A spoiler-protected hint, please?

You don't even understand on how many levels this would spoil you. Really, just forget you even saw these comments.

(Also: have you stopped reading since Sara hasn't been doing summaries?)

have you stopped reading since Sara hasn't been doing summaries?

Yes, but we're not mentioning that because we want her to relax and rest her hand until it's all better.

Of course I don't want to put pressure on Sara! But I don't mind putting pressure on you: You COULD read ahead and just keep notes as you go.

Katekyo! 2, 3, 4 - Moegi Yuu (sweh!)
I've apparently read a different series than EVERYONE ELSE.

My first reaction to the above line? "There's *another* volume? Ergh."

Caramel comes out here this fall - I was a little waffly on ordering it blind, and only threw it in to pad an order, but I guess I can feel more hopeful about it now. (I didn't really read the details you posted, just skimmed/rating.)

"There's *another* volume? Ergh."

Haha, awww. But if you didn't like the first three, you should just skip the last one; it's not going to change your opinion on anything.

re: Caramel - you liked the other book by that author (Whispers of Love, or whatever?), right?

you should just skip the last one

...have we met?

I didn't hate the books, I just don't love them. Actually, I barely processed them in the reading. They meant nothing to me. That doesn't mean I want to know I've left it unfinished. (That is, if we even see volume 4 here.)

you liked the other book by that author
Well, I didn't hate it but it wasn't like super fave or anything. In fact all I really remember about it was the earmuff visual gag (because it was RPG funny), and that I thought she built up to kiss scenes nicely. The story was puff-piece generic tho, and actually a little muddled maybe? I kidn of don't remember, but it took me a while to warm to it and then at the end it seemed like it wasn't over.

Yeah, I knew you wouldn't listen to me, but you should! If your reaction to there being another one is "Ergh," then, seriously, stop. (And get rid of the first three! You don't need to own everything!)

I actually haven't read Whispers (oops), but...well, I was going to say that the Amazon reviews for Caramel are higher for that, which would seem to be a good sign for you, but then if you actually READ the Amazon reviews, they're all like "they actually have sex in this one!" which I can't take seriously as a reason to like a book. So never mind, I have no point here.

I share your love for Ikasama Memory and Shizuku Hanabira Ringo. I wish the latter would continue forever, because the two of them are adorable.

I wish the latter would continue forever

Right?? It makes me sad for that to end, since it got cuter and cuter as it went on. I guess it's better to go out on a high note, but...series that go on too long until they suck isn't exactly the biggest problem in BL. XD I actually tried to come up with an example of a series like that, but the only one I could think of was Bukiyou na Silent, and that's because the series focuses on a couple I don't really like now. BL needs more long series!

BL and shonen need to exchange some length so that we can have more than 1 or 2 volume BL and less "goes on forever and ever" shonen. :P BL definitely needs more long series. *sighs*

Ha, totally.

(Well, except One Piece. That can absolutely go on forever and ever. >.> )

Seriously, ugh. Why is this so rapey?

My reaction exactly. Ew! Why?!

Yeah, it was really awful. I hope the next volume isn't like this or I'm not sure I'll want to continue the series, which...is sort of funny, considering the comment right above this. Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be my example of a BL series that should have ended while it was still good.

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August manga 1

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